The Comics We Loved: Selection of 20th Century Comics and Creators
from the Region of Former Yugoslavia is a lexicon for the wider audience.
For the first time in the research of popular culture, there has been
drawn together, in one place, the most important works and authors’ opuses,
from one of the centres of European comics.
Yugoslavia in the 20th century was a region which was not only massively
developing comics’ culture, but was also producing many important works
of the history of comics, and even some masterpieces. This tradition has
continued even today in the countries which were a part of the former
Yugoslavia: Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina
and Montenegro.
The book provides basic information, panel examples and critiques or citations
from critiques for about 400 comics from about 400 authors (about 200
artists, 150 script writers, 50 writers whose works were used in comics).
With the help of about 100 comics critics from the whole of the West Balkans,
the book has been compiled by three co-authors – Živojin Tamburić, Zdravko
Zupan and Zoran Stefanović – who have been devoted to comics all their
lives as readers, artists, researchers, promoters and collectors.
The criteria that were used for the selection of comics are aesthetic
and professional achievements, popularity with the audience, originality,
sociological relevance and curiosities. The book is distinguished by many
special research materials and a rediscovery of many forgotten authors’
opuses after many decades of obscurity. The book is published in Serbian,
but the most important parts are translated into English.

Monograph entitled Comic
Books That We Loved, published by Omnibus from Belgrade, was selected
as the Edition of the Year 2011.

Jury's decision was based on the excellence
and grandeur of this project, which thoroughly analyzes, systematizes,
and popularizes 20th century comic books in former Yugoslavia. The authors
of this lexicon of critical essays, which are all top experts in their
field, have proven to be fully competent to create such a detailed and
ambitious project to serve as a testimony to the history of comic book
culture, its quality surpassing all borders as it can boast obvious regional
significance.

“ (...) So, whether you are an action lover, helpless romantic, admirer of beautiful graphics, art critic, humour lover, history enthusiast or simply one of the “cool kids “ from Yugoslavia, this is a book for you. Buy it, read it, savour it and treasure it for your future cool kids, but most importantly for your inner child.(...)”

When you have in one place a complete overview of the most important
authors, magazines and critics of comics, it means you have a guide which
you can absolutely trust.MOMCILO RAJIN, art historian, editor and
author

The Comics We Loved by Zivojin Tamburic, Zdravko Zupan and Zoran Stefanovic
represents a pioneering achievement in the history and critique of the
9th Art in Serbia and Yugoslavia.VASA PAVKOVIC, writer, editor and critic

The Comics We Loved is the book that in the 21st century will draw attention
to this previously less emphasised cultural factor, which shaped consciousness
of contemporaries in the previous century.SLOBODAN IVKOV, editor, critic and curator

In this book, these intrepid, discriminating compilers have realised
an exceptional achievement by combing diligently through thousands of
pages of comics and comics reviews to distil a captivating alphabet of
artists and writers who have shaped and enhanced not only the comics of
their homeland but in several cases the comics of the world.PAUL GRAVETT, writer, curator, international
comics historian, director of Comica Festival, London